We have brains asks:

The anniversary of the terrorist attacks is on Wednesday. Many of us wish that the media would let it alone so we can heal by ourselves - some of us are still fixated to CNN for any update. Instead of debating the war, civil liberties, whether we, as feminists, should support women on the front lines, let's talk about the depiction of women in the media. Specifically, women (s)heroes. Some of the most well known pictures of heroes on 9/11/2001 are of the brave men who saved lives, lost their lives, or both. We were all saying thank yous to the men of the NYC/DC/PA police & fire departments & various other emergency agencies. What the media left out were the women who gave all at Ground Zero. In a new book, Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion by Susan Hagen, Mary Carouba, the authors set out to tell the stories of the brave women who saved lives & those who lost their lives. Some feminist organizations, I forget which, made a video of women who were there & helped in the rescue & recovery efforts. These efforts to specifically point out the women of 9/11 were quickly criticised in the mainstream media. So what do you think? Is it important to the story of the terrorist attacks to highlight women? Is it important to the young women growing up to highlight the female heroes? Or do you just not care what gender the hero is/was?

The last few days, much like many, I've been thinking about this time last year. Before 9/11 was part of our vocabulary. Before the attacks, the tributes, the songs, the words. It all seemed so normal. Normal has shifted.

We do hear so much about the brave men who were at ground zero. The firemen, the policemen, the rescue workers. In fact, the only womyn I can remember having been profiled was the reporter, Ashley McKinnon(?) who was on the spot and who has emerged as a strong reporter. Thinking about that day and the reports thereafter, I think of the men and womyn who were lost, but the men who helped out at the site. My thoughts of rescuers are masculine.

I think that we need to highlight womyn. I believe that we have to ensure that their legacy is not lost as this day fades further and further into the past. In no way does this take anything from the male rescuers and workers. Everyone at that site was a hero, in my opinion.

I believe that we have an enduring view of a firefighter. Male, rugged, covered in soot and ready to go in for more to save lives. While we know this is dated and biased view, sometimes we resort to it. It's like comfort food. Our brain plays tricks on us, reinventing the familiar, making it seem like it was years ago. We resort to the old, we resort to the childhood view. By we, I don't necessarily mean individuals, I mean society and the mainstream media in general. This is then the prevailing view and what we seek for comfort. Publishing something different upsets this view. It's like craving cheezies for comfort food and being fed carrots. Both are orange and crunchy but only one is what you crave.

There are many biased views from 9/11. Partygirl has pointed out several times, most recently in this entry that sympathy seems to have a meter. We rate whom we have more sympathy for, placing spouses before fianc�(e)s, and children before friends. Yet everyone connected to that person lost someone they love. Where are the support groups and suggestions for friends of those lost? For people who had just started dating them? For those who searched for their bodies even though in terms of relationships they were 'like family' and not biological family?

I think it's the same with the heroes. We have one view and we stick with it. Do we need more views. Yes. Always. This book Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion sounds like a good start. Even if people just see the controversy about it, it opens their minds to the idea that there were womyn (s)heroes as well. Opening minds is a wonderful thing.

I don't care what gender a hero is. I just want to know that I'm not getting just one side of the story. It is important to everyone to know that both womyn and men are (s)heroes.

So, when tomorrow comes, I'll be thinking of the day that normal shifted. The grief that many are feeling. And the womyn and men who helped try to shift normal back to where it once was - Thank you.

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